A Stellar Video of My Song – by Christine Lavin
Jun 16Published in the Times of Israel, June 2020: Local folk singer pens ode to female astronomer Sandy Cash combines her scientific and songwriting skills, earning recognition from fans around the globe by Jessica Steinberg See the original article here. See the video of “More Than Meets the Eye” here: As a folk singer, songwriter, science writer and sometime actor, veteran American...
From “The Other Woman”
Mar 21I recently played out my musical conflicts on stage, in a new cabaret that mixes folk music performance with my other great love: the musical theater. Accompanied by Haim Tukachinsky on piano (when I wasn’t playing my guitar), “The Other Woman” was a vocal and dramatic stretch for me… and, it seems, a delight for the audience. Here are a couple of videos from that first...
The Power of Two
Feb 22For years, I’ve been living a double life. Mild-mannered, coffeehouse-frequenting folksinger on the one hand, stark-raving Drama Queen of the musical stage on the other. In isolation, both genres pack a powerful entertainment punch. But what would happen if I put folk music and musical theater together? That’s what I’ve set out to discover in my all-new solo show: The Other...
Next to Normal – Aren’t We All?
Sep 10As a musical-theater-loving American who moved to Israel in her mid-20s, my mind is a cultural time-capsule – full of the song-and-dance extravaganzas that made headlines back when I was a student. This nostalgic mindset isn’t mine alone – it also characterizes Israel’s many English-language theater groups, who regularly choose to mount productions of shows that rose to popularity 30, 40,...
Influence and Inspiration: 3 Songs I Wish I Had Written
Apr 15I’ve always been a word person. Don’t get me wrong – I love a beautiful melody as much as the next person, but if a song doesn’t tell a story, well… it’s generally in one ear and out the other. My idea of an excellent song is one that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats, wondering what’s going to happen next. When I hear a number in which every phrase draws you closer...
Romancing my Dentist in “A Little Night Music”
Aug 26It’s just a week until the opening night of “A Little Night Music” – Stephen Sondheim’s wonderful musical about love won, lost, and temporarily misplaced. I play the “One and Only” Desiree Armfelt, an actress. My temporarily mis-placed love is the lawyer Fredrick Egerman played by my friend and real-life dentist, Dr. Howard Metz (hey, it’s...
TLV1 – A Radio Interview from my Old Stomping Grounds
Jun 30When I first moved to Israel, I lived in Tel Aviv, where I shared a number of cheap rental apartments in the bohemian “Shenkin” area. One of my first ventures to the city, however, brought me to Kikar HaMedina (literally, “The Country’s Square” even though it surrounds a large, circular park). Kikar HaMedina is the swankest address in an already swank part of town,...
Battling BDS – When the Call for Boycott Hits Home
Apr 08Good news: a musician friend — a recognized name in the singer-songwriter world, but let’s just call him “David” — is considering a concert tour in my home country of Israel. Bad news: as soon as word got out, David was contacted (or you might say, targeted) by an anti-Israel activist: Please, please, please don’t do a tour in Israel. Palestinian...
Can We Agree on One Thing?
Jan 26We Jews are great at coming together in response to external threats. Dealing with internal divisions — well, that’s something else entirely. Right or left, traditional or secular, Zionist or anti-Zionist (and everything in between), Jews have strong beliefs and we’re not afraid to use ’em. But can we all stop, take a deep breath, and remember when…? A new song,...
A Musical Editorial
Dec 29The “Times of Israel” recently picked up a song from “Voices From the Other Side” as a “top op” (op/ed) to share with their readers. This song is a dark satire about the State of Israel’s ongoing struggle with Western public opinion. Audio and video at the link: Song of Zion The struggle goes on. Today (December 29th, 2013), four katushya rockets were fired...
The King and I – Thanks for the Memories (and Melodies)
May 27I’m still floating from the experience of playing the role of a lifetime: Anna in the Jerusalem production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I.” Jerusalem Post columnist Liat Collins was one of the many, many people who came out to see one of our six performances, and — in an article devoted to other issues — she was inspired to declare us...
From Folksinger to Musical Theater Royalty – My Journey to “The King and I”
May 27Barry Davis of the Jerusalem Post wrote a terrific piece leading up to my appearance as Anna in “The King and I.” Spoiler: this isn’t the first time I’ve performed in a hoop skirt! Here’s a scan of the article in all its thumbnail-sized glory, but if you want to actually read the fine print, you can catch it online at the link below: Cashing In On the...
Hebrew Press Takes Notice
Feb 11Remember when Sting sang about being an Englishman in New York? Well, I’m an American in Israel, and even though more and more Israeli musicians are performing in English, my music is a bit out of the mainstream. That’s why it was so nice to see a Hebrew-language publication pick up on my latest disc, and give a positive shout-out. This appeared in “Hallel”...
A Review to Write Home About
Feb 02When Norm Mast, co-host of The Back Porch radio show broadcasting out of Indiana, named my new disc one of the best of 2012, I thought I couldn’t be more pleased. But I am. He just wrote to tell me WHY. And I quote… “Hi Sandy, Al Kniola forwarded your email to me re: our pick of Voices as one of our Best of 2012 selections. You asked why or what made this CD stand out for...
“Voices” Named One of 25 Top Folk CDs of 2012
Jan 07Time for a happy dance (click “Read More”, then click on the pic to see the animation)! DJs Al Kniola and Norm Mast, hosts of WVPE’s “The Back Porch” radio show broadcasting out of Elkhart, Indiana, have named VOICES FROM THE OTHER SIDE as one of the top 25 folkmusic releases of 2012. Thanks,...
Home Front (Everything’s Alright)
Nov 23This is a video of a song I wrote in the afternoon of November 21, just a ceasefire brought Operation Pillar of Defense to a close. We’re all hoping that this ceasefire lasts longer than the last one… the agreement sounds suspiciously like the one made at the end of Operation Cast Lead four years ago. By the way, this was my first-ever homemade video created using the camera on my...
Music and Activism – My Double Life Revealed in “Israelity”
Nov 21Israelity is a blog that focuses on “the reality of daily life in Israel.” Daily life here has been difficult lately, with Hamas rockets putting the lives of literally half of Israel’s population in danger. This recent blog post talks both about my music, and how I make it my business to speak out for my country.
Rain? Lightning? Rockets? No Problem for Israeli Folk Fans
Oct 28They used to say that the US Postal Service would get the job done despite “dark, storm, or gloom of night.” Well, in two recent concerts, Israeli folk music fans proved that they will brave anything to come out for a show. This past Thursday, I was invited to the city of Petach Tikva as part of the “Greta’s Rooftop Concerts” series. I had heard that Greta — a...
“Voices” hits the Folk DJ charts
Oct 10Good news: Less than a month after its release to the radio, Voices From the Other Side has made it onto Folk-DJ’s “TOP ALBUMS AND SONGS OF SEPTEMBER 2012.” It’s an honor to have my album listed along with recordings created by some of my favorite artists. Among others, my new songs have been broadcast by: Gene Shay, WXPN, Philadelphia, PA Christine Lavin (guest host), WFUV, New...
Singing (With Sirens) in the South
Sep 12One of the things I like about living in a tiny country like Israel is that you can be a nationally-touring folksinger, and always get home in time to drive carpool in the morning. This morning this trusty one-liner proved true yet again… I’m back home at the computer at 8 AM after last night’s show in the southern town of Beer Sheva. Last night’s show marked the first...